Kiss My Backpack — Plan your trip to Bulgaria easily and independently

Hi everyone! I’m Stef, founder of Kiss My Backpack, a Bulgaria-focused travel platform for English-speaking travelers. I work at the intersection of destination content, SEO, and local storytelling. Happy to continue the discussion here.

Why I built an English-language travel brand for Bulgaria

Bulgaria consistently surprises visitors, and yet it remains largely absent from mainstream travel conversations.

As someone living and working in the country, I kept noticing the same pattern: first-time visitors arrive with very little information, outdated expectations, and almost no context about what Bulgaria actually offers. When they leave, they’re often enthusiastic advocates, but the discovery happens by accident, not design.

That gap is what led me to create Kiss My Backpack: an English-language travel platform focused entirely on Bulgaria, built specifically for foreign travelers who are actively planning a trip.

The problem - An underrated destination with limited tourism storytelling
Bulgaria has strong raw assets - mountains, ski resorts, thermal spas, historic cities, wine regions, and relatively low costs (although the latter is changing rapidly). But compared to neighbouring destinations, its international tourism marketing is fragmented and inconsistent.

Much of the existing information available in English is either:
- outdated
- overly generic
- written without local context
- or focused on price rather than experience

For travelers used to well-packaged destinations, this creates friction at the planning stage. Not because Bulgaria lacks appeal, but because it lacks clear, trustworthy storytelling.

The solution - A local-first approach, written for foreign tourists
The core idea behind my brand is simple: local knowledge, translated into practical content for international readers.

That means:
- explaining how things actually work on the ground
- addressing common concerns and misconceptions
- focusing on clarity over hype
- and building evergreen content that answers real planning questions

The goal is to become a reliable entry point for people discovering Bulgaria that adds true value for future or returning visitors.

Question - A broader question for the travel industry

Building a destination-focused platform for a lesser-promoted country has made me reflect on a broader issue.

1. As travelers or industry professionals, have you noticed how often genuinely interesting destinations lack clear, practical information, while research results are dominated by the same generic content everywhere?

2. Do you feel there’s value in locally written, experience-led platforms that focus on useful context and real tips, rather than surface-level inspiration?

I’d love to hear how others approach this; both from the traveler and industry side!

And happy holidays everyone :)